House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) today released for public comment a discussion draft on reforming the tax treatment of financial products as part of the Committee's broader effort on comprehensive tax reform. Chairman Camp released 43 pages of draft statutory text and a 27-page technical explanation prepared by staff, along with a brief overview and summary.

Chairman Camp stated, “The U.S. is a leader in the financial world, but our broken and antiquated tax code has failed to keep up with the rapid pace of financial innovation on Wall Street. The lack of consistent and comprehensive tax policy has also contributed to some corporate scandals and the recent financial crisis that devastated our economy and threatened our standing in the global community. Updating these tax rules to reflect modern developments in financial products will make the code simpler, fairer and more transparent for taxpayers; and it will also help to minimize the potential for abuse that has occurred in the past.”